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Ferrari’s Leclerc on pole after tough qualifying session in Baku

Sports Desk, Jun 5 (EFE).- Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc will lead the grid at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix while Lewis Hamilton managed to make P2 in the qualifying session following a tricky weekend for the Mercedes team.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, currently top of the leaderboard for the season, is to start in P3.

The P1 start will come as a relief for Leclerc following his disappointing Monaco Grand Prix, for which he made pole but was unable to compete due to mechanical issues with his Ferrari.

“I was not expecting to be as competitive as we were today, we were helped with the red flag but anyway. It definitely feels very good, a pole is a pole,” Lecler told F1 media after the session.

It wasn’t until the latter stages of a complex qualifying session that Hamilton was able to turn his fortunes around.

“We definitely were not expecting that,” he said. “I’m really proud of everyone, it is a great, great start. This is a massive leap and it is down to a great team.”

Verstappen seemed less impressed by the session around the unforgiving urban circuit in Baku, where proceedings were brought to a halt by four red flags throughout the day.

“It was just a stupid qualifying to be honest, but it is what it is,” he said.

As things stand, AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly will start in P4, ahead of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, who slid off the track after Yuki Tsunoda, in the other AlphaTauri, crashed ahead of him on Turn 3.

Lando Norris in the McLaren bagged a P6 start ahead of Red Bull’s Sergio ‘Checo’ Perez and Tsunoda.

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